CHILDREN: SEE THE HUGE POTENTIAL Bart and family, Tom & Jerry, and Noddy and co ­ just some of the licensing power driving the children's market says Pam Peterson Hall & Woodhouse is making the most of the tremendous potential of the children's market. Marketing manager soft drinks, Graham Jacobs says: "It is worth remembering that kids under 10 years old form 16% of the population but account for 23% of UK soft drink sales ­ nearly £2bn. "And in a market forecast to grow at 5% in 2000 the kids' sector is growing at 8% [AC Nielsen], offering huge potential where a quality product is listed." A favourite brand in the sector is Panda Pops, now available in a 33cl PET six pack format. It is available in top selling variants, strawberry jelly & ice cream, sherbet lemon, cherryade, blue raspberryade, lemonade and cola. Panda Pops is the brand leader in the small PET market, with a market share of 18.6% growing at 8.1% per year. The multipack 33cl PET format is outperforming the single market by 35% [AC Nielsen]. Panda Pops has introduced a special Easter variant this year, Chocolate Orange, in the 33cl PET format. Promotions for Panda Pops include a 24x330ml PET at £2.99 offer in participating C&Cs. Following the launch of its The Simpsons range last year, Hall & Woodhouse has introduced Itchy & Scratchy Fatal Contraption and Manic Mallow Marshmallow Soda in 33cl single PETs. The two new variants feature Bart Simpson and his favourite cartoon characters Itchy and Scratchy. They also come in the six pack format. Also new is a range of The Simpsons flavoured waters aimed specifically at the kids' market. Calypso Soft Drinks, the market leader in the cup drinks sector responsible for producing and marketing 81% of all cup drinks sold, estimates cup drinks have an 11% share of the fruit drink market. The company claims a 5% share of the small cartons sector representing some 10.4 million litres of Calypso branded fruit drinks. Calypso, Tetra Pak's largest 200ml customer in the UK, has linked with the Woodland Trust and Tetra Pak UK to launch a major on-pack promotion targeting 31,000 schools. Living Woods' encourages children to collect special green straws from Calypso Juice cartons to qualify for a range of educational equipment for their schools. Calypso's marketing executive Lesley Rayon says: "Working with the Woodland Trust and Tetra Pak, an industry leader in packaging and environmental concerns, we aim to raise children's awareness of the environment in a fun, educational and interactive way." Calypso Soft Drinks is offering huge rewards to loyal retailers this summer through its range of Flintstones and Tom & Jerry freezepops. By saving the outer packaging bar-codes, retailers can claim prizes and can also enter a competition to win £2,500 plus 10 fully stocked Calypso chiller display cabinets. The Flintstones and Tom & Jerry freezepops made with spring water from Calypso's sustainable source are available in 50ml and 100ml sizes. A new range of fruit drinks from Princes Soft Drinks is the latest recruit to the Noddy licensed collection. The no added sugar' drinks range includes one litre PET smooth style dilutable squashes in apple & strawberry,apple & blackcurrant and orange flavours. In addition, the one-shot juice drink mini cartons are available in orange, strawberry and blackcurrant. The Princes Soft Drinks range, rsp 99p for the one litre PET squashes, 39p for the single 200ml juice drinks carton and 70p for a triple pack, were launched at the end of March. Princes marketing controller Ian Brooks says: "We have developed premium quality products that reflect the brand positioning and that differentiate from cheaper' price point driven licensed soft drinks products." Britvic Soft Drinks is focusing more sharply on the children's market with products designed to fit their needs and aspirations. Tango is now available in a new 250ml PET bottle. The company says the aim is to increase lunchtime consumption of fizzy drinks by providing children with an easy to hold, resealable, cool image pack, at the same time providing portion control for mothers. Mining the benefical aspects of children's soft drinks is a successful route to take as SmithKline Beecham has found with Ribena Toothkind which claims to help reduce tooth erosion by being lower in fruit acids. SB says sales of the blackcurrant carton are up 40% ­ more than three times the 12% growth of the one shot still market. {{FOCUS SPECIALS }}